The Marriott Bonvoy program is a culmination of the Starwood Preferred Guest, Ritz Carlton Rewards and Marriott Rewards programs, officially merging in early 2019.
With the merger comes a number of changes to earning and redeeming points, which we will cover in-depth in a series of guides. Members enrolled in the program can earn and redeem Marriott Bonvoy points, which are quite versatile. Frequent guests also have the opportunity to notch up elite status, which unlocks valuable perks.
Unfortunately, Marriott Bonvoy will introduce dynamic pricing from March 2022, with the full raft of changes expected to take place from 2023 onwards. Here is a snapshot of the new Marriott Bonvoy program, including all the basics of earning and redeeming points, plus the status tiers.
How do I join Marriott Bonvoy?
Joining Marriott Bonvoy is free and easy. If you’re not already a member, then follow these steps:
- Head to the ‘Join Marriott Bonvoy’ page and enter the required details.
- Tick the boxes depending on whether you want email offers or not.
- Click ‘Join’ and your enrolment is complete.
- Log in to your account while booking with hotels directly to take advantage of lower rates, and to earn points after your stay.
What Marriott Bonvoy brands are there?
Marriott International has a whopping 30 different hotel brands within its portfolio, as below:
You can earn and redeem Marriott Bonvoy points on stays at The Ritz-Carlton, St Regis, Edition, Luxury Collection, Bulgari Hotels & Resorts, W Hotels, JW Marriott, Marriott, Sheraton, Marriott Vacation Club, Delta Hotels, Le Meridien, Westin, Autograph Collection Hotels, Design Hotels, Renaissance Hotels, Tribute Portfolio, Gaylord Hotels, Courtyard by Marriott, Four Points by Sheraton, Springhill Suites, Protea Hotels, Fairfield by Marriott, AC Hotels, Aloft, Moxy, Marriott Executive Apartments, Residence Inn, Towneplace Suites and Element by Westin properties.
What are the Marriott Bonvoy elite status levels?
Marriott Bonvoy has six published status tiers, which are:
- Member
- Silver Elite
- Gold Elite
- Platinum Elite
- Titanium Elite
- Ambassador Elite
There is also a top-secret Cobalt Elite status level which is invitation-only. You can find more information about the normal status tiers and benefits on the Marriott Bonvoy website. It’s worth joining the program just to get free internet and discounted rates.
Marriott Bonvoy Member
Requirement: just enrolment in the program
- Complimentary Internet
- Mobile check-in and services
- 10 points per US$1 spent at most properties
Marriott Bonvoy Silver Elite
Requirement: 10 nights a year
Lifetime requirement: 250 Lifetime Nights + 5 years Elite Status
In addition to Member benefits, you’ll get:
- Ultimate Reservation Guarantee
- Late check-out (where available)
- 10% points bonus on top of the normal rate
Marriott Bonvoy Gold Elite
Requirement: 25 nights a year
Lifetime requirement: 400 Lifetime Nights + 7 years Gold Elite Status (or higher)
In addition to Silver Elite benefits, you’ll get:
- Enhanced free internet access
- 2pm late check-out (where available)
- Hotel welcome gift of points
- Enhanced room upgrade (where available)
- 25% points bonus on top of the normal rate
Marriott Bonvoy Platinum Elite
Requirement: 50 nights a year
Lifetime requirement: 600 Lifetime Nights + 10 years Platinum Elite Status (or higher)
In addition to Gold Elite benefits, you’ll get:
- 4pm late check-out
- Lounge access
- Guaranteed room type
- Hotel welcome gift of points, breakfast or amenity
- Annual Choice Benefit (options include 5 Suite Night Awards)
- Enhanced room upgrade including select suites (where available)
- 50% points bonus on top of the normal rate
Marriott Bonvoy Titanium Elite
Requirement: 75 nights a year
Lifetime requirement: No longer offered
In addition to Platinum Elite benefits, you’ll get:
- An additional Annual Choice Benefit (options include 5 Suite Night Awards)
- 75% points bonus on top of the normal rate
Marriott Bonvoy Ambassador Elite
Requirement: 100+ nights a year and US$20,000+ annual spend
In addition to Titanium Elite benefits, you’ll get:
- Ambassador Service
- Your24 (nominate any check-in time; if confirmed, check-out time will be the same on the day of departure)
How do I earn Marriott Bonvoy points?
Earning points on stays
Of course, staying at hotels is the main intended way to earn Marriott Bonvoy points. With more than 6,700 hotels in 130 countries, there is bound to be a Marriott property wherever you go.
The standard earn rate is 10 Marriott Bonvoy points per US$1 spent on room rates and other hotel charges that can be billed to your room. As you gain elite status, you’ll also have a bonus multiplier on top.
Buying points
You can also buy points direct from Marriott at the standard rate of US$12.50 per 1,000 point increments, up to a maximum of 50,000 points a year. New accounts with a qualifying stay can buy points after 30 days, while those without activity can only purchase points after 90 days.
However, it may be better to wait for points promotions or sales to get a discount off the standard rate, or get bonus points thrown in.
Transferring points from other partners
In Australia, the easiest way to get a bucketload of Marriott points is through American Express Membership Rewards. This includes the popular Platinum Edge and Explorer cards.
The current transfer rate is 3 Membership Rewards points for 2 Marriott points, with a minimum of 600 MR points to swap for 400 Marriott points.
Marriott has a number of partnerships with car hire companies. Eligible rentals with Hertz will earn 500 points for 1 day and increase to 2,000 points for 2 days or more. SIXT offers 750 points for every car hire, 1,000 points for limousine transfer and 3 points per 1 USD spent on SIXT ‘mydriver’.
How do I use Marriott Bonvoy points?
Here are the ways in which you can use your Marriott points, with links out to separate guides where applicable:
- Hotel stays and upgrades
- Transfer to frequent flyer partners
- Hotel + Air travel packages
- Flights and car hire
- Exclusive events and experiences
- Shopping
Using points for hotel stays
You can still use Marriott Bonvoy points to redeem free night rewards at most participating hotels. There are currently eight hotel categories with peak, standard and off-peak pricing. This chart is still in effect until March 2022.
At some point in March 2022 (the exact date is unknown), Marriott Bonvoy will switch to dynamic pricing. This means the categories and redemption chart will be abolished. For the rest of 2022, 97% of properties will still offer reward nights within the previous peak/off-peak limits.
But for the other 3%, and for every property from 2023 onwards, dynamic pricing will truly kick in, with the number of points needed for the stay varying on many factors.
Learn more about redeeming Marriott points for hotel stays.
Transfer to frequent flyer partners
You can convert your points to over 40 different frequent flyer programs, including Qantas Frequent Flyer, Velocity Frequent Flyer, Singapore Airlines KrisFlyer and Cathay Pacific Asia Miles. The full list of programs is available here.
The exchange rate is 3 Marriott points to 1 airline point or mile for most frequent flyer programs, except:
- 200 Marriott points for 1 Air New Zealand Airpoint
- 3 Marriott points for 1.1 United MileagePlus miles (a 10% boost)
For every 60,000 Marriott Points you transfer out (equivalent to 20,000 frequent flyer miles), Marriott Bonvoy will throw in another 5,000 frequent flyer miles.
Learn more about transferring Marriott points to airline partners.
Redeem Hotel + Air packages
The popular 7-night packages start from 315,000 Marriott Points for a Category 5 hotel and 50,000 frequent flyer points, up to 750,000 Marriott Points for a Category 8 hotel and 100,000 frequent flyer points.
All the airline partners mentioned above participate, including Qantas and Virgin Australia. We’re not sure how Marriott’s changes to dynamic pricing will affect these packages, but we’ll keep you updated once we know.
Learn more about Marriott’s Hotel + Air packages.
Other uses of Marriott Bonvoy points
You can directly use your Marriott points to book commercial flights and pay for car hire, but this is rarely good value compared to using them for reward nights.
Likewise, using points for experiences or shopping also will be bad value overall unless it is a money-can’t-buy-experience you really want or you have really no other use for your points.
Further information about redeeming points can be found in the following video.
How do I contact Marriott Bonvoy?
You can contact Marriott Bonvoy (the loyalty program) on 1800 450 010 from Australia or +800 6277 4680 from overseas. The full list of phone numbers is found on this help page.
Summing up
Many readers will have a love/hate relationship with Marriott Bonvoy, especially if they were previously a part of the highly-regarded Starwood Preferred Guest (SPG) program that was rolled into Marriott Bonvoy.
Still, the new program has its own merits, such as lifetime elite status and the ever-popular Hotel + Air packages that you can redeem with Marriott points. It’s a pity that dynamic pricing is kicking in, but we’ll need to wait until 2023 to see the full effects of this major change.
The Marriott International group has a large portfolio of properties, so chances are you’ll be able to find a Marriott property near you, suited to a variety of budgets.
Frequently asked questions
Yes, Marriott Bonvoy is the new program after the merger of Marriott Rewards, Starwood Preferred Guest and Ritz Carlton Rewards.
Marriott Bonvoy is a loyalty program of the Marriott portfolio of hotels. You can earn points through various means and then redeem them for rewards, including free hotel nights.
It is free to sign-up as a base-level Member of Marriott Bonvoy.
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